Aretha Franklin Albums Ranked

Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter, actress, pianist, and civil rights, activist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she embarked on a secular-music career as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While Franklin’s career did not immediately flourish, she found acclaim and commercial success after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)”, “Respect”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”, “Chain of Fools”, “Think”, and “I Say a Little Prayer” propelled her past her musical peers. By the end of the 1960s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as the “Queen of Soul”. Here are all of Aretha Franklin’s albums ranked.

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10. The Electrifying Aretha Franklin (1962)

““Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody” is the big song here, yielding her first top 40 hit (peaking at #37), where the drums have more snap and the song has more swing to Garland’s big band version. But even that one isn’t essential; as was the case for Aretha, no one’s going to miss out on anything if they never heard The Electrifying Aretha Franklin.”

9. Hey Now Hey (The Other Side Of The Sky) (1973)

“I think this is her best album, which is why I don’t understand why it’s practically unknown in her catalog. The only track on it that seems to be semi- known is Angel, which was one of her final big 70s hits. It is stupendous but its not the only stupendous track on this album. There’s at least three or four others, which is about as many as are on her more famous and more praised 60s albums, which I always thought were only about half-great because too many of the songs were kind of mediocre to begin with.”

8. Aretha Arrives (1967)

“No one can deny the great talent Aretha Franklin is! Her voice, her personality make you feel the songs – this is soul music at its best. “Aretha Arrives” does not include any of her most-known songs, but it’s a great album to listen to when you’re fed up with Aretha’s other overplayed tracks. This album proves that A. Franklin is much more than the singer of “Respect”! She is amazing”

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7. Spirit In The Dark (1970)

“Since the most important factor into why Aretha Franklin’s music is so widely-beloved is her towering voice, the first thing to mention when discussing Spirit in the Dark is the fact that every performance from herself is genuinely quite magnificent – at times her soaring vocals are heart-breaking, at times overwhelmingly joyful, and always timeless in their emotional power and poignancy. There’s more than enough here to certify her as one of the voices that understands the appeal of soul as a genre the most,  and thus further demonstrates why she was one of the greatest singers of all time.”

6. Live At Fillmore West (1971)

“This is one of those live albums that looks like a “can’t miss”, but fails to deliver in actuality.  All you have to do see some of the problems of this 1971 set is to read tracks 2 through 5 on side one.  All that very obvious covers of songs by Stephen Stills, Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, and David Gates do is take up room that Aretha should have been performing more of HER great songs.  Side two is more like it with Dr. Feelgood, Spirit in the Dark and Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand).  A mixed bag, worth it for a couple of the tracks.  Mainly useful for Aretha completists”

5. Amazing Grace (1972)

“Backed by a fantastic choir and a peerless band, Aretha Franklin returns to the nest as it were in this brilliant live gospel recording.  As you’d expect with a fully amplified band in a packed church, the sound isn’t always picture perfect but if anything this merely underscores the greatness of Franklin.  She unleashes her powerful voice with complete confidence and abandon.”

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4. Young, Gifted And Black (1972)

“Aretha Franklin made Young, Gifted, and Black in 1972 during the midst of her most creative years. The album contains her trademark soulful singing, a few moving love songs, one gritty original, and some cover versions. There are also some social overtones as well. As the title implies, these were uplifting times for blacks in America. Black pride symbolized an emerging nation working toward changing traditional attitudes.”

3. Aretha Now (1968)

“Aretha Now is about the same level of quality as her previous album, it has some good songs, Think is a really catchy song, and of course is now famously known for being the song she sang in Blues Brothers. Its a pretty soulful album and while its does have some forgettable songs, it does have some really good ones.”

2. Lady Soul (1968)

“Aretha’s voice is so self-assured and strong, she just belts out these songs like there’s no tomorrow and I can’t imagine anyone finding fault with any of them…or with any of the arrangements for that matter.  It all just sounds so natural and passionate, she was definitely destined to be a singer. “

1. I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (1967)

“”Respect” probably is the greatest album-opener in the history of popular music. This superlative, funky, churchy beater was cooked up using all of Southern Soul’s main ingredients: thumping drums, thundering bass, country church organ, crisp electric guitars and a huge, huge stew of delicious brass. Add Aretha’s powerful, gospel-drenched vocals and the Sweet Inspirations’ on-the-money ‘oohs’ on top of it all, and let the result speak for itself. Otis Redding, the man who had written and composed the tune and scored a huge R&B hit with it in 1965, was reportedly blown away by Franklin’s treatment.”